Ta’ Giorni high-rise would tower over Balluta Bay

A proposed high-rise on the site of Ta’ Giorni’s Palms villa will dominate views from the Sliema promenade at the Exiles beach, towering above other buildings in Balluta Bay and rising higher than the Marriott hotel.

Photomontages commissioned by the developer for a visual assessment by Econsulting assessed the scale of the high-rise on 11 different views, including strategic views from Valletta.

The three towers rise from 12, to 13 and 15 storeys, the latter joining at the fifth to ninth levels, with 165 apartments. The project, proposed by landowner Andrew Borg, comprises 533 parking spaces over three underground levels, a 440sq.m commercial area on the second underground level. Part of the existing main house will be retained and restored.

The assessment claims the impact on views from Sliema’s St Julian Tower will be “of minor to moderate significance” and that the towers’ upper portion will be visible behind St Julian’s urban massing in a “dense urban townscape.”

The development will also be visible from Victoria Gardens in Ibraġġ. In this coastal view, the upper half of the proposed development will be visible behind St Julian’s urban massing.

In its conclusion, the assessment claims the visual impact in most case is “barely visible” or will have a minor impact on the landscape.

But this opinion was not shared by the Planning Authority’s own design advisory panel, which assessed the photomontages.

The committee, chaired by architect Dr David Mallia, expressed “concern” on the visual impact of the proposal as shown in the visuals. “The committee is of the opinion that considerable mitigation measures are required so that it no longer competes with established landmarks.”

The Environment and Resources Authority exempted the project from an environment impact assessment in 2020. While recognising the visual impact of the project, the ERA passed the buck to the PA by concluding that this should be “considered directly through the development consent mechanism.”

Even though no permit is required for uprooting, ERA is recommending that a mature orange grove on the site is transplanted instead of uprooted and destroyed.

A staggering 150,000 cubic metres of inert waste will be generated during demolition and excavation works. But ERA claims this waste “is not considered to be significant as long as the waste is managed in accordance with the Waste Management Regulations.” No reference is made to the geological impact on the site of the development.

The ERA also said airborne dust from demolition and construction was not considered to be significant “in view of the temporary nature and short-term duration of the construction phase.” Noise and vibrations levels during the demolition, excavation and construction phases are also “likely to have a short-term and temporary impact,” ERA said.

The project will increase the number of average daily car trips by about 549 vehicles, over and above the 22,300 vehicles at Junction 1. Once again ERA claims that “no significant impacts are being envisaged during the operational phase in relation to air quality.”